[hybrid event] Sacredness in a Secular Age
Details
In this meetup we will explore Sacredness, a perhaps non-traditional philosophical concept.
There is the expression “Is anything sacred anymore?”
In today’s secular society, and from a primarily analytic perspective, we might legitimately ask if sacredness is just a quaint remnant of bygone days.
Yet I am curious about how this concept still holds weight in the modern world.
Typically, when speaking of the “sacred” we might set out initially from religious context, imagining sacred forms as dwelling in:
- Texts/Ideas: such as the Bible, Torah, or Koran
- Objects: such as the Shroud of Turin, tribal headdresses, or maybe even sacred weapons.
- Places: such as Mecca, or Notre Dame cathedral
- Events: such as baptisms, pilgrimages
Yet we need not take sacredness from a purely religious frame; it can be evaluated on own its terms.
For example, we can see sacredness as overlaying ordinary ideas, objects, places, and events with an extra, supervening, bit of respect. A setting aside from the mundane experience with a bit of reverence. Almost as an emergent property of existence itself, that imbues the transient with a resonating connection to eternal form. A representation of something as worthwhile beyond its basic utility. Notions that bear repetition, or warrant preservation, to remind us of transcendent connections. Then sacredness can branch out into all kinds of non-religious elements. Relationships to friends and family, nostalgia for our past, connection with nature, respect for life, even national or political identities we take seriously.
I posit that there is a subtext of sacred aspect in many intentional actions of our daily lives. And these aspects are ever present with how we actually function in the world, whether we admit religious identity or not.
Charles Taylor, Canadian philosopher, discusses how as we seek a place for self in contemporary society, that we search for meaning beyond just instrumental gains. The sacred is the antithesis of the materialistic. We seek to transcend purely physical, utilitarian endeavors.
Sacredness is not only doctrinal belief, but also a background of meaning-making. The practices, narratives, and institutions that evolve and develop sacred goods that shape identities.
Some starter questions for discussion:
How does sacredness relate to the epistemological?
Is the sacred “knowable” in any rational or empirical sense?
Is it only accessible via intuition and mystery?
How does it relate to the metaphysical?
A sacred relic might be identical to a non-sacred object—with the same atoms, same physical properties—yet it gets treated differently. Why is that?
Who makes the call about the enchanted/disenchanted divide?
Is it a communal or personal assessment?
References:
Wikipedia Sacredness entry
Wikipedia "A Secular Age" article
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We meet in person and online. In person will be at the cafeteria of the applied physics lab. Snack and drinks are available for online purchase. Pizza will be provided as well at a price of $2/slice. Online will be: https://teams.live.com/meet/93583191724730?p=hY3jxVvnOciVl2aRn5
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